All About Vietnam

Work to start on Saigon’s Tet flower street

January 6, 2017

VietNamNet Bridge – In more than a week, HCMC will begin building the traditional flower street on Nguyen Hue Boulevard to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Tet. The Nguyen Hue flower street is a signature event in the city during Tet.

A man prepares a steel frame with empty ﬂower vases

Construction workers are in a hurry before the start of the construction of the flower street in the pedestrian square of Nguyen Hue in the heart of the city. Three sites chosen for making preparations are Binh Quoi Tourist Area and Van Thanh Tourist Area in Binh Thanh District, and a factory to produce replica roosters in HCMC’s District 12.

Following are some snapshots taken by the Daily’s Thanh Hoa to feature the preparations that are hurriedly made before construction starts on the Nguyen Hue flower street.

A worker paints an apricot ﬂower

Artisans make replica chickens at a factory in District 12 in HCMC. The ﬂower street will feature a family of happy chickens, consisting of a 3.5-meter-tall rooster, a 2.8-meter-tall hen and 15 chicks which are 0.6 meter tall

Replica chicks are created at Binh Quoi Tourist Area – Photos: Thanh Hoa

Traffic routes near Nguyen Hue Street adjusted Dao Loan Traffic routes on some roads in downtown HCMC such as Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke will be changed to make way for the Nguyen Hue Flower Street and the Book Road Festival in the upcoming Lunar New Year, or Tet. Construction work has already started on the flower street along Nguyen Hue. The municipal Department of Transport said road users will not be permitted to travel on the streets of Mac Thi Buoi and Ngo Duc Ke – a section between Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue, from January 19 to 25, due to the ongoing construction work on Nguyen Hue Flower Street and the Book Road Festival. In addition, this ban will apply to Nguyen Hue Boulevard’s mixed lane stretching from Ton Duc Thang to Nguyen Thiep streets. The alternative routes will be Ton Duc Thang-Hai Ba Trung-Le Thanh Ton or from Ton Duc Thang, then turn right to Ham Nghi-Le Loi. Many road sections will be closed to serve these two events, namely Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Nguyen Thiep, Mac Thi Buoi, Ngo Duc Ke, Hai Trieu, Huynh Thuc Khang and Ton That Nghiep, from January 25 to 31. Local residents in aforesaid areas will be allowed to travel as instructed by traffic police officers.... [read more]

The Rooftop Garden Bar on the fifth floor of the Rex Hotel Saigon is a good place for guests to escape from the noisy and bustling atmosphere of the overcrowded city and have a panoramic view of the downtown area. The promotion is applicable to cocktails. VND549,000 (US$24.6) is the price of a set of three cocktails with two signature classes of the hotel and one classic cocktail. The Rooftop Garden Bar has been known by the cocktail brand “5 o’clock follies” over the past 50 years and bartenders of the hotel have created a signature cocktail of the same name. The cocktail is a mixture of the pungent taste of rhum barcadi, the light sweet taste of cucumber and the sour flavor of lemon juice. Slowly enjoying each and every sip of a “5 o’clock follies” cocktail and watching the sunset from the fifth floor of the hotel is a great way to hide away from the outside world. For beer, customers pay VND299,000 for three bottles or VND459,000 for three glasses of draught beer. Situated at the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi streets, the Rex Hotel Saigon, a unit of Saigontourist Holding Company, has 286 rooms including 97 suites and a presidential suite. With advanced facilities, every room or suite has a brown wood floor and is decorated in Vietnamese style, creating a cozy and comfortable space for guests. Photos of Saigon of the past and the present are hung along the hallways and in all…... [read more]

The newspaper describes the Reverie Saigon's design as "unapologetic splendor" and its rooms "ranging from sophisticated modern and classical European to whimsically sassy." Reverie Saigon on Nguyen Hue street, Ben Nghe ward, District 1, HCM City is set to open this summer. Each of the 286 rooms features floor-to-ceiling windows, and there are 12 categories and sizes of rooms, the hotel announcement says. Furnishings have been designed by Italian designers Visionnaire, Provasi, Giorgetti and Colombo Stile. In-house restaurants include R&J Italian restaurant and lounge, named for Romeo and Juliet, which serves traditional Italian food, and the design-heavy Royal Pavilion with classic Asian decor. It serves Cantonese cuisine. The Long @ Times Square acts as a casual dining and gathering spot, with as many as 10 bartenders mixing decadent cocktails at a 157-foot bar, which stretches from Dong Khoi Street to Nguyen Hue Boulevard. Rooms range from US$450 to US$550 a night (VND9.8 million-12 million), while suites are priced at US$800 to US$15,000 a night (VND17-320 million). Here are some photos:... [read more]

At An Dong Market on the weekend before the holiday, people are thronging the aisles. Sunday is usually a quiet day at this huge, four-story shopping centre, but today there are lines at almost every stall. From coffee beans to candies to dried shrimp, supplies are flying out of the building and into the shopping bags of people preparing for the coming festivities. In District 1, the most happening places are the flower markets. In a city where parks and green spaces are at a minimum, the Lunar New Year is a time to enjoy natural beauty. Nguyen Hue boulevard , the traditional location of the biggest flower show, is already full of yellow, red, and pink petals. Even driving past, in the middle of pack of motorbikes, the perfume of flowers can be scented. At the exposition on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai road in District 1, night has turned the park into a carnival. Children are everywhere. Smiling families pose for pictures in front of miniature bonsai trees, multi-coloured orchids, and gigantic pigs made out of daisies. An especially fat-cheeked baby, carried in a front sling by his proud mother, condescends to have his photo taken with enamoured strangers. Though certain spots (the bubbling fountain and the pink trees, symbol of Tet, which have been brought from the north) are the most coveted for photo-taking, on this night there is no pushing or shoving. Relaxation in anticipation of a few days off work has already set in, and amateur…... [read more]

Work to start on Tet flower street Thanh Hoa In more than a week, HCMC will begin building the traditional flower street on Nguyen Hue Boulevard to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Tet. The Nguyen Hue flower street is a signature event in the city during Tet. Construction workers are in a hurry before the start of the construction of the flower street in the pedestrian square of Nguyen Hue in the heart of the city. Three sites chosen for making preparations are Binh Quoi Tourist Area and Van Thanh Tourist Area in Binh Thanh District, and a factory to produce replica roosters in HCMC's District 12. Following are some snapshots taken by the Daily's Thanh Hoa to feature the preparations that are hurriedly made before construction starts on the Nguyen Hue flower street.... [read more]

Selfish selfie hunters From December 25-27, Nghệ An welcomed all selfie lovers.. ahem.. sunflower lovers to come and take pictures for free at a blooming field in the central province. The field in question had already become popular among the youth as the flowers blossomed towards the end of the year. The authorities were only institutionalising the trend in order to boost the local tourism industry. Images of the sunflower field and people taking selfies were duly carried by several online publications and the social media, but they did not capture the havoc wreaked on the field by the visitors. The 100-hectare field was cordoned with bamboo fences, but these offered little resistance as hordes of people rushed to find vantage points for their pictures. They crushed the plants, stomped on the flowers and used leaves to protect themselves from the sun. At the end of the day, local authorities were forced to announce that those who destroyed the plants and flowers would be penalized. It so happens that the field belongs to a dairy farmer who uses sunflower meals as cattle feed. While the farmer was game to his field being milked for tourism benefits, he would have surely balk at it becoming fodder, not for his cows, but for ruthless selfie hunters.Bike lost & found in an accident A woman in Hà Nội's Tây Hồ District was idly surfing the web when a story about a police station's parking lot overloaded with vehicles taken from traffic violators caught…... [read more]

The planned tunnel would run along the Saigon River from Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, which is under construction, to Khanh Hoi Bridge. It is part of a broader project to upgrade Bach Dang Wharf Park just adjacent to the Nguyen Hue pedestrian square. In an urgent announcement issued last week by the Office of the HCM City People’s Committee, the city had given approval in principal to Saigontourist Holding Company to draw up a plan for upgrading Bach Dang Wharf Park. Municipal authorities noted the investor should design approach roads to the tunnel for Ham Nghi and Nguyen Hue boulevards, as well as Khanh Hoi Bridge. The investor would be able to expand the wharf park in a way that would not narrow the width of the Saigon River. The city government requires the investor to factor waterway taxi, metro and rapid bus transit services into the project. In mid-2013, the city assigned Saigontourist to prepare a plan for developing Bach Dang Wharf Park into a tourism complex which included piers for tourist boats and other recreational services. In July this year, the city government allowed District 1 to overtake the wharf park upgrade project and call for investors. However, after a meeting with relevant departments and agencies on December 12, city chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong took Saigontourist back on board. The city banned hydrofoils and restaurant boats from anchoring at Bach Dang Wharf in April 2015 to pave the way for the upgrade of the wharf park. However, the…... [read more]

Tunnel planned under Ton Duc Thang road in downtown HCMC Le Anh HCMC – The government of HCMC is planning to build a tunnel under Ton Duc Thang Street stretching from Ba Son Shipyard area to a bridge connecting districts 1 and 4. The planned tunnel would run along the Saigon River from Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, which is under construction, to Khanh Hoi Bridge. It is part of a broader project to upgrade Bach Dang Wharf Park just adjacent to the Nguyen Hue pedestrian square. In an urgent announcement issued last week by the Office of the HCMC People’s Committee, the city had given approval in principal to Saigontourist Holding Company to draw up a plan for upgrading Bach Dang Wharf Park. Municipal authorities noted the investor should design approach roads to the tunnel for Ham Nghi and Nguyen Hue boulevards, as well as Khanh Hoi Bridge. The investor would be able to expand the wharf park in a way that would not narrow the width of the Saigon River. The city government requires the investor to factor waterway taxi, metro and rapid bus transit services into the project. In mid-2013, the city assigned Saigontourist to prepare a plan for developing Bach Dang Wharf Park into a tourism complex which included piers for tourist boats and other recreational services. In July this year, the city government allowed District 1 to overtake the wharf park upgrade project and call for investors. However, after a meeting with relevant departments and agencies…... [read more]

HCMC begins forcing business offices out of condo buildings Cao Ban Most condo units at the building at 42 Nguyen Hue Boulevard in HCMC’s District 1 are used for business purposes - PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC – The HCMC Department of Planning and Investment has urged those businesses having offices in condo buildings in the city to move out within 15 days. They will have to stop operation inside condo buildings and register for new office addresses. If they fail to do so, the department will coordinate with the Construction Department and district authorities to deal with them in accordance with law. According to Government Decree 99/2015, which guides the implementation of the Housing Law, business offices are disallowed inside condo buildings. Those having business registration licenses and using apartments as transaction offices are required to move to other places within six months starting from December 10 last year, which means the June 10 deadline is over. But many businesses are still operating in many condo buildings around the city. Data of the Department of Planning and Investment shows the city now has around 2,000 enterprises whose head offices are based in such residential buildings. More than 30 condo units at 42 Nguyen Hue Boulevard in District 1 are used for doing business. Seven to eight households still live at this place while the rest have moved to other places and leased their homes to others, said Tran Quoc Thang, member of the condo’s management board. “We cannot manage those…... [read more]